A Complicated Life
Posted by michellex3 , Tuesday, April 3, 2012 10:33 PM
One of the biggest problems we see
in the world today is how women are treated and how some of the decisions we
make are over analyzed because we cant or shouldn’t have. On the other hand,
there are many decisions that do make women feel empowered because they do have
a choice. In the novel Things Fall Apart,
by Chinua Achebe; one of the main themes we see throughout the novel is
Women’s Rights. Being a woman in the novel and in the world, there are pros and
cons. In Achebe’s novel women are mistreated to a certain extent and they have
certain luxuries as well.
Women have been oppressed and beaten
with the approval of societies that are dominated by the male sex. “According
to the English common law, in the eighteenth century, a husband was allowed to
chastise his wife as long as the instrument he was using was no wider than the
width of his thumb” (200, The Solution
for Black America, Emmanuel Barbee). Later,
one of the biggest steps for women in the United States was the passage of the
19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Women’s rights were still
not equal to men’s but it was a step forward. Modern Nigeria is a patriarchal society. Women
have fewer legal rights then men. “According to Nigeria's Penal Code, men have
the right to beat their wives as long as they do not cause permanent physical
injury. Wives are often seen as little more than possessions and are subject to
the rule of their husbands” (Curry,
Tim. . N.p., 1959. http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Nigeria.html#b.).We
can see examples of this later throughout the novel. Also there is the
situation of bride prices. “Many Nigerian ethnic groups follow the practice of
offering a bride price for an intended wife. Unlike a dowry, in which the woman
would bring something of material value to the marriage, a bride price is some
form of compensation the husband must pay before he can marry a wife. A bride
price can take the form of money, cattle, wine, or other valuable goods paid to
the woman's family, but it also can take a more subtle form. Men might
contribute money to the education of an intended wife or help to establish her
in a small-scale business or agricultural endeavor. This form of bride price is
often incorporated as part of the wooing process. While women who leave their
husbands will be welcomed back into their families, they often need a
justification for breaking the marriage. If the husband is seen as having
treated his wife well, he can expect to have the bride price repaid”. This is
also a case shown in the novel, which will be further discussed.
In
Achebes, Things Fall Apart, One of
the first examples we see of an abusive relationship is when Okonkwo beats his
wife. “Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his youngest wife, who went
to plait her hair at her friend’s house and did not return early enough to cook
the afternoon meal... And when she returned he beat her heavily” (29 Achebe). The
priest of the earth goddess called upon Okonkwo to speak to him of his sinful
actions during sacred week. He told him “your wife was at fault, but even if
you came into your obi and found her lover on top of her, you would still have
committed a great evil to beat her” (30 Achebe). Seeing a situation like this
in the novel, and seeing how the duties of women are described, it is implied
that it is the women’s responsibility and top priority to put her husband and
his needs first. When Okonkwo was speaking to the priest of the earth goddess,
it was shown how there really isn’t respect for women. He basically told
Okonkwo that he did have the right to hit her but he just shouldn’t have done
that during sacred week. It’s disappointing to see how women are undermined and
they aren’t respected despite the fact that they do a lot of the work for their
families. Another instance of domestic violence in the novel is presented
during a trial. Uzowulu presented his case that his wife, Mgbafo, and his
children were taken from him by his three brother-in-laws. He was requesting
that he get paid back his bride price, as it was law. “The law of the clan is
that you should return her bride price”(91 Achebe). What was later revealed was
that everyday for the nine years that he had been with his wife, he had beaten
her. On one of these occasions, she was pregnant and he beat her so hard that
she miscarried. He even beat her when she was sick and he almost beat her death
unless the neighbors had walked in to save her. The priest told him that he was
to go to his in-laws “with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you”(92
Achebe). It was also a condition by his in-laws that if he ever beat his wife
again they would cut off his genitals. This shows one of the pros or benefits of
being a woman. The previous paragraph contains text that applies directly to
this situation. “According to Nigeria's Penal Code, men have the right to beat
their wives as long as they do not cause permanent physical injury. Wives are
often seen as little more than possessions and are subject to the rule of their
husbands” (Curry, Tim. . N.p., 1959. http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Nigeria.html#b.).
The clan handles domestic violence against women depending on the certain
extent to which the husband’s abuse the women. Although it’s unfair that the
woman had to suffer for nine years, she did in a way get justice and she had
the luxury to decide whether she would take him back or not. Its not
traditional or ‘normal’ for a woman to leave her husband but if and when it
happens, her husband would just be repaid the bride price which leads me into
further luxuries of being a woman in traditional Nigeria.
Future
suitors of the wives pay a bride price to her family as a way of gratitude and
honor to her and the family. In the book we see examples of two marriages in
which the future husbands bring a certain amount of barrels of palm wine as a
bride price to the family. We also see that women do have choice in certain
things such as leaving her husband if she chooses to and even picking her
suitor. Just because the parents of the groom and bride decide on a monetary
exchange for the women, doesn’t mean that the marriage is necessarily arranged.
With Okonkwos daughter, Ezinma. She had grown to be as beautiful as her mother
once was known. “Many young and prosperous middle-aged men of Mbanta came to
marry her. But she refused them all…” (173 Achebe). Clearly she does have that
opportunity to choose her suitor and not have to be reprimanded for it.
Not
only in Nigeria, but also all over the world, have women been undermined. We
have been thought of as people whose opinion never mattered. Today, there are
still many women that are subject to their husbands ‘machismo’, which is just a
very male dominated way of being and thought. It is showing aggressive pride in
a mans own masculinity. It is not okay, ever, for a man to hurt a woman or take
advantage of her and vice versa. In this case it is not like that but with
progression things slowly change. Women who still live in patriarchal societies
still have to deal with ‘male domination’, but they do have choices. In this
day and age and specifically in Nigeria, women have luxuries but they also have
downfalls when it comes to being their own person, making their own decisions
and having their own opinions.
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